Call to extract coal, explore gas to solve energy crisis
Friday, 5 June 2009
FE Report
The government should immediately extract coal and explore gas as part of an integrated long-term energy policy to solve growing power and gas crises in the country, a top advocacy group said Thursday.
"The country's societal and economic advancement will suffer a serious blow if energy security is not ensured," said Qazi Kholiquzzaman, convener of National Commission on Gas, Oil and Coal (NCGOC), told a meeting in the capital.
The committee, which includes supreme court judge, ex-bureaucrats, economists and energy experts, says the country is facing a severe energy crisis and coal and gas are its immediate answers.
"We have to depend on gas and coal as the main sources of energy in the near future. Side by side we have to make an effort to import hydro-power from Nepal and Bhutan," Kholiquzzaman said, reading out a statement.
The committee said the government should extract coal through underground mining, as the open-pit mining --- that foreign companies and some local experts favour --- poses threat to the country's already fragile environment.
It calls for renewed emphasis on gas discovery as the existing reserve has been depleting fast owing to lack of explorations in the past seven-eight years.
"There is no scope for bureaucratic red-tapism in deciding coal extraction, gas exploration and power generation. The government has to take effective steps considering welfare of the people and the nation."
Kholiquzzaman said the government should formulate a "long term, proper integrated energy policy" in line with its election manifesto.
"But transparency should be maintained in formulating energy policy so that the stakeholders can know how things are being done and they can express their opinion," he said.
"The policy should clarify all energy sources and their uses," Kholiquzzaman, also the president of Bangladesh Economic Association (BEA), said.
He said import of hydro-power should feature prominently in the policy side by side renewed emphasis on gas, coal, oil fired electricity generation and renewable energy.
"We have to rely on gas and coal as primary energy sources for next few years as a nuclear power plant will require time and money to set up while generation of hydro-power is unrealistic in a plain land like ours," he said.
The BEA president suggested formulation of a coal policy in light of draft coal policy prepared by Patwari Committee in 2008 and ruled out any possibility of coal export, now being championed by some companies.
"There is no scope for coal export as according to government estimate, the country will need around 885 and 1,200 million tonnes of coal up to 2030 and 2035 respectively to generate electricity," he said.
"In the short term, we have to ensure optimum utilization of the power that we are generating. The old plants should be modified and properly maintained. The under-construction plants should quickly be implemented."
BEA General Secretary Prof Abul Barakat said: "Geological Survey of Bangladesh (GSB) and Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration Company (Bapex) have to be strengthened with manpower and latest technology to attain efficiency in energy exploration."
"Things will be much easier for the government if it can eliminate corruption in the power generation and distribution system."
Former chief of Planning Commission Rafidul Islam Khan also attended the meeting.
The government should immediately extract coal and explore gas as part of an integrated long-term energy policy to solve growing power and gas crises in the country, a top advocacy group said Thursday.
"The country's societal and economic advancement will suffer a serious blow if energy security is not ensured," said Qazi Kholiquzzaman, convener of National Commission on Gas, Oil and Coal (NCGOC), told a meeting in the capital.
The committee, which includes supreme court judge, ex-bureaucrats, economists and energy experts, says the country is facing a severe energy crisis and coal and gas are its immediate answers.
"We have to depend on gas and coal as the main sources of energy in the near future. Side by side we have to make an effort to import hydro-power from Nepal and Bhutan," Kholiquzzaman said, reading out a statement.
The committee said the government should extract coal through underground mining, as the open-pit mining --- that foreign companies and some local experts favour --- poses threat to the country's already fragile environment.
It calls for renewed emphasis on gas discovery as the existing reserve has been depleting fast owing to lack of explorations in the past seven-eight years.
"There is no scope for bureaucratic red-tapism in deciding coal extraction, gas exploration and power generation. The government has to take effective steps considering welfare of the people and the nation."
Kholiquzzaman said the government should formulate a "long term, proper integrated energy policy" in line with its election manifesto.
"But transparency should be maintained in formulating energy policy so that the stakeholders can know how things are being done and they can express their opinion," he said.
"The policy should clarify all energy sources and their uses," Kholiquzzaman, also the president of Bangladesh Economic Association (BEA), said.
He said import of hydro-power should feature prominently in the policy side by side renewed emphasis on gas, coal, oil fired electricity generation and renewable energy.
"We have to rely on gas and coal as primary energy sources for next few years as a nuclear power plant will require time and money to set up while generation of hydro-power is unrealistic in a plain land like ours," he said.
The BEA president suggested formulation of a coal policy in light of draft coal policy prepared by Patwari Committee in 2008 and ruled out any possibility of coal export, now being championed by some companies.
"There is no scope for coal export as according to government estimate, the country will need around 885 and 1,200 million tonnes of coal up to 2030 and 2035 respectively to generate electricity," he said.
"In the short term, we have to ensure optimum utilization of the power that we are generating. The old plants should be modified and properly maintained. The under-construction plants should quickly be implemented."
BEA General Secretary Prof Abul Barakat said: "Geological Survey of Bangladesh (GSB) and Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration Company (Bapex) have to be strengthened with manpower and latest technology to attain efficiency in energy exploration."
"Things will be much easier for the government if it can eliminate corruption in the power generation and distribution system."
Former chief of Planning Commission Rafidul Islam Khan also attended the meeting.